15 traits of a successful entrepreneur.
Passion, creativity, and resilience are the most crucial skills in business. If you’ve got those, you’re ready to embark on the journey. - Jo Malone, Founder
A couple of years back, I became fascinated with the world of entrepreneurship having been introduced to it by a friend. I got sucked down this rabbit hole feeling a bit like Alice in Wonderland at the Mad Hatter’s tea party. I began studying it in great detail, and the more I learned the more I was convinced that I wanted to become self-employed. Having lived in the corporate world for over two decades, there were naturally certain traits, behaviors and thought processes that were ingrained in me. Traits that I needed to unlearn. This was not easy, but I took the leap anyway. And so began a journey of self-discovery and the subsequent re-invention of my mindset, skillset and toolset.
This journey made me think that the entrepreneurial mindset can benefit teams within large organizations as well. This is especially so with the rapid change that is happening in all areas of work and life and the nature of the skills and competencies that are now required for remote team-work such as adaptability, flexibility, focus and collaboration.
Here are some tips, articles, templates and tests that you can use:
Develop an Entrepreneurial mindset.
Develop habits that support the creative process
Find your passion and purpose
Maintain discipline with a healthy routine
Set goals that keep you motivated
Maintain discipline with a healthy routine
Invest in specialist skills upgrade
Build your network
Build confidence and a personal brand
Have a vision and strategy
Focus on results
Assess risk and set thresholds
Remain tenacious and resilient
Be financially savvy and invest wisely
Stay adaptable and flexible
See failure as opportunity
#1 Develop habits that support the creative process.
Entrepreneurs have the ability to see opportunities, find innovative ways to do things, and seek out solutions. Think about what makes you feel creative, such as a walk in nature, a visit to an art gallery, music, meeting people who encourage you, reading books or listening to podcasts on subjects that give you new perspectives, or engaging in activities that expand your horizons. Put yourself in environments that make you feel inspired. Dedicate a specific part of your day to finding inspiration and make it part of your daily routine. Here’s a great article by James Clear the author of Atomic Habits.
#2 Find your passion and purpose
Passion is what drives entrepreneurs. They usually love what they do, which helps them invest their time in their projects. Having a passion for something you care about will give you focus, add meaning to your work. The thought that you are contributing to finding solutions that will help many people will give you the energy you need to continue when doubt settles in or when things get difficult. Passion is what keeps you centered on your objective. Take this test to find your passion.
#3 Set goals that keep you motivated
Motivation is the will to accomplish certain things. Entrepreneurs are generally self-motivated, driven to make their business a success. To increase motivation, you can start by setting small goals that can help you reach larger ones and encourage you to aim higher. Recognize the work already accomplished and celebrate your results, even minor ones. See every challenge along the way as an opportunity to learn something new and get smarter, stronger, faster, better. Here’s a free goal setting template.
#4 Maintain discipline with a healthy routine
Discipline is the ability to show up and act consistently. Consistency and a healthy routine are the key to any successful endeavor. Entrepreneurs are good at managing their time and making every minute of their day count. Some of us perform specific tasks more efficiently at different times of the day. Although the majority of survey’s have shown the 8am to 12pm window to be the most productive for approximately 70% of people, do this simple test to find out whether you are an owl, a lark or a third bird.
#5 Invest in specialist skills upgrade
Entrepreneurs know what value they can create. They have outstanding specialist skills and knowledge that is usually at the cutting edge of their industry or specialism. They clearly define the category of products or services they want to sell and to whom. To keep enhancing this knowledge, stay on top of industry trends. Commit to life-long learning, to improving your skills and adopting new technologies.
#6 Build your network
The ability to connect with people and recognize partnership opportunities is crucial to successful entrepreneurship. Meeting new people might facilitate access to resources or knowledge your business needs. It allows you to learn from the success of others, promote your products or services and meet new clients. To improve your networking skills, you must try to build genuine relationships. If you meet someone who could benefit another person in your network, connect them. Not only will you help someone, but they will probably remember you and want to return the favor.
#7 Build confidence and a personal brand
Entrepreneurs believe they can achieve their goals. They may have doubt, but they persevere through it. They are ready to invest the necessary work because they are confident about creating something valuable. Self-belief is essential because it allows you to overcome challenges, take risks and be persistent. To improve your self-confidence, you can use the technique of visualization. The 5 A’s of personal branding are Authority, Authenticity, Affinity, Aspiration and Artistry – a dedicated post on this coming soon.
#8 Have a vision and strategy
Entrepreneurs have vision. They are focused on the future and visualize the bigger picture they wish to materialize. They have foresight and can predict future outcomes, which fuels their efforts and pushes them forward. A vision can only become a reality if you have an innovative and well-thought-out strategy to achieve the desired outcomes, backed up with a concrete plan of action. Prioritizing your tasks can keep you from feeling overwhelmed and help you stay true to your vision.
#9 Focus on results
Entrepreneurs are goal and results oriented. They know what they want to achieve, set a goal and work toward that objective and the determination to achieve the result. What gets measured gets managed, so you need to have a clear framework for continuously assessing what success means for your business. Having clearly articulated objectives and outcomes will help to keep you focused on the results and achievement of your vision. It will allow you to witness your progression and help keep you on track. Look out for my post on OKRs coming soon.
#10 Assess risk and set thresholds
Entrepreneurs are risk-takers. They plan for the unknown so they can make calculated decisions that are profitable for them and their business. To become less risk-averse, you can start considering your journey as a learning process, including the possible failures. Be willing to fail or be set back and lose time, effort and money. The question is, what is your threshold? Obviously, you want to minimize the impact of this possible loss, so you need to set some parameters to help you stay on track. Risk management is essential to the success of any project.
#11 Be decisive and take action
Entrepreneurs need to be decisive and sometimes make quick decisions to capitalize on rapidly changing market trends and opportunities. So, they need to be responsive and agile and take action to ensure the success of their business. Procrastination, indecision, and analysis paralysis could have adverse outcomes, if not disastrous effects. Making good decisions and taking timely action relies on having good information, predictive tools and data at your fingertips. And don’t forget your intuition – sometimes bucking the trend results in unexpected, successful outcomes.
#12 Remain tenacious and resilient
Entrepreneurs overcome challenges. They never give up. They keep trying against all odds. They have a strong sense of conviction in their ideas and persevere through difficulties holding on to their goals and dreams. Tenacity is an attitude - a stubborn refusal to be beaten and a determination to win. It requires patience, the ability to bounce back and re-focus, find alternative paths forward and maintain the mental drive to push forward. Stay optimistic and positive. As the saying goes, “It doesn’t get easier; you get stronger”. When you attach effort to achievement, the effort feels good.
#13 Be financially savvy and invest wisely
Entrepreneurs need to be financially savvy and have a general understanding of their business’s financial opportunities and constraints. After all, a business exists to make money. Basic money management, budgeting and investing available funds wisely is vital to ensuring a profitable business. Managing your balance sheet, cash flow, taxes, financing options can all be a daunting task if you are not an expert. Get the right tools, upskill or get help. Being bootstrapped is not a bad thing - it helps you invest wisely.
#14 Stay adaptable and flexible
Entrepreneurs know that no game plan is ever cast in stone. As the old adage goes, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray”. Things are bound to change unexpectedly along the way. Therefore, flexibility in your schedule, as well as in your thinking, is crucial to continue growing through challenging situations. Entrepreneurs often need to multitask and wear many hats. They have to juggle many moving priorities and try to stay focused on the end goal.
#15 See failure as opportunity
Failure is a necessary part of the process of becoming successful or good at anything. The greatest learning comes from failing and trying different approaches. Learning by doing and not being afraid to fail is essential if you want cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset. You should never equate failure with losing. I'm reminded of a great Nelson Mandela quote "I never lose. I either win or I learn."
If you've found this post useful, please leave your questions, comments, share insights from your own experience, or perhaps different points of view. Follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Medium where I will be sharing more practical tips and content like this as well as strategy blueprints for business, brand, product and marketing. I’d love to have your feedback. Join the conversation and share this with your network - knowledge shared is power multiplied.
If you are an aspiring solopreneur or an entrepreneur and need strategic business and brand advice or even an intrapreneur who wants to catalyze change within your organization, visit brandcrib.com and join the community. Alternatively email me on georgette.kolkman@brandcrib.com. I’d be happy to help.
Wishing you success, prosperity, personal growth and positive change.
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